Random Notes

Laura's birthday party was a success. My sister's friend Amy brought her children, and Mom's friend Caroline brought her grandson. That meant lots of children running around and getting soaked under the wading pool/sprinkler. I held the instructions and tried to look involved while Dad and Uncle Tom assembled a new gas grill.



When it was over and everyone else went home, we went swimming in the big pool. Laura, Andy, and Emma liked that even better. Naturally, I'm sunburned. It was worth it, though; I haven't been swimming in five or six years.



As promised, here are photos from the party.





1) The kids loved the little wading pool.

2) Andy, Laura, and Emma splash around

3) April and Dad make burgers and hot dogs on the new grill.

4) Amy feeds the children.

5) Laura gives me a hug while wearing her bike helmet.

6) Emma discovers a lawn chair.

7) Andy doesn't pin the tail on the donkey.

8) Caroline and Mom watch the kids play.

Today is my niece Laura's birthday. It's hard to believe it's already been four years since her birth.



Let me tell you, Laura is sharp. I'm constantly amazed at how quick she is, and her verbal skills never fail to impress. If there's a four-year-old sensible drama queen running around on the face of the earth, she's probably learning a lot from Laura. Andy and Emma couldn't ask for a better older sister. I'm looking forward to the birthday party this weekend.



In other news, I bought The Return of the King on DVD yesterday and immediately watched it (with a quick break to attend the PFLAG meeting). It's a good movie, and I felt a little weepy near the end... again.



I also loved the Lord of the Rings "supertrailer" they added. I'm a big fan of movie trailers, so seeing one for the entire trilogy was a bonus. Now I just have to count down the days to the release of the expanded edition on DVD. I'm not going to be happy until I see Saruman's staff broken.

Eric Idle has written a little song called "The FCC Song" (Lyrics). It's available for free download as an MP3 at Pythonline.com. This could be my new theme song.

Ellen Goodman has a good column called "Same-Sex Couples Reinforce the Power of Marriage.". It's worth a read.



I've enjoyed seeing the photos and stories coming out of Massachusetts this week, and I'm amused to see some of the more rabid anti-gay nutjobs like Dobson and Sheldon have been having a hard time firing up the congregations for the anti-gay amendment. The U.S. is a pious nation -- sometimes insufferably so -- but most people have a very civic "live and let live" mindset with usually kicks in when the Jesus People get too far out of hand.

I'm one of those Democrats galvanized by Howard Dean's campaign and would've gladly voted for him, even after the "I have a scream" speech which seemed to spook everyone. Now he has a column in the Boston Globe called "Vermont's Lessons on Gay Marriage" which is well worth a read.

President Bush came to Parkersburg last week, and it was my duty/pleasure to package the story and photos about the protests outside. I've posted the layout to my online portfolio, if you're interested.

To: President George W. Bush

From: Terry L. Estep

Subject: Constitutional Amendment Barring Gays from Marriage



Dear President Bush:



I am disappointed (but not surprised) that you chose to renew your call for a constitutional amendment "defining and protecting marriage as a union of a man and a woman as husband and wife" on the very day the state of Massachusetts has stepped into history by giving its gay and lesbian citizens equal access to civil marriage.



On the very day these committed couples who have long been forced into second-class citizenship were finally able to partake in the benefits and obligations of their cultural birthright, you took the role of the spectre at the banquet by issuing a reminder through Presidential Mouthpiece McClellan that these citizens and their relationships are undervalued by your administration.



On the very day I watched you present a speech praising the anniversary of the Brown decision ending segregation of education in this country against a clamoring tide of bigoted voices, you have the bad grace to add your voice to the clamor against equality and acceptance for a large number of your constituents who seek the American dream of buying a home and settling down with the person they love to create a unit apart from the one in which they were born.



At the very least, you could have had the decency to wait until Tuesday to remind us of your low regard.



Terry L. Estep



terryestep@hotmail.com

www.mysterysteps.com

He'll never read it, but it felt good to hit the "Send" button just the same.

---

From an Associated Press article...

"The documents being issued all across Massachusetts may say 'marriage license' at the top but they are really death certificates for the institution of marriage," said James Dobson, founder of the conservative Christian lobbying group Focus on the Family.

This is really rich. Dobson makes it sound like straight people are suddenly going to stop marrying just because we can in one state. He makes the hetero community sound like a bunch of spoiled children who don't want to share and act like they don't want it anymore. I have more faith in society than he does, I guess. Most people are going to continue loving, dating and marrying no matter what. Dobson and his stooges-in-arms should drop the alarmist bullshit and grow the hell up.

For fun, I thought I would post my browser's home page. This is a web portal I made with links to sites I regularly visit, the ones I want at my fingertips without have to wade through a bunch of Favorites menus. I've removed a few for the sake of privacy. Keep in mind I use Internet Explorer and my resolution is set at 800x600, so your milage may vary.



Relay for Life was pretty cool. I had a lot of fun hanging out, but now I'm exhausted. I was at City Park from 3 p.m. yesterday to 8 a.m this morning without sleep, but I did twelve laps around the park. I don't know how many miles that translates into.

I'll be spending the night in City Park and walking plenty of laps as I participate in the Wood County Relay for Life. I didn't do my homework this year, so I'm not sure who's going to be there. I went last year because I wanted to hang with some of my co-workers outside the office, but I'm not sure that particular carrot-and-stick is available to me this time. I guess I'll find out when I get there.



President Bush came to Parkersburg yesterday to tout education reform, and I could imagine a gym full of irate English teachers pelting him with pencil erasers until he stops saying "nucular" when he means "nuclear." I had moments where I wanted to be with the protesters, but it would be a waste of energy. I could get worked up, wave a sign and blow off steam, but I'd much rather wait until the election and send the man home to Crawford.

I'm at my parents' house for the weekend, preparing to go to a family reunion. The turnout is expected to be large this year because Aunt Alice, bitten by the geneaology bug, has been doing a lot of research on the family tree and has contacted branches from all over the place. Many of them will be turning up at this reunion for the first time.



"They might have so many people that we'll need to wear name tags," Dad told me.



When I mentioned this to April, I told her I was tempted to write "The Gay" underneath my name.



"God, I'd pay money if you'd do that."



"Maybe I should be subtle and put "Bastion of Gaity."



Dad was surfing around and found Prenter.net, a site devoted to the Prenter area near our home and where Dad works. There are pages devoted to Prenter families and the businesses which were there. He's pretty sure the baby "Catherine" shown on the top photo of The Bradley Family page is actually his mother Kathleen, who is in her early 80s and has a birthday coming up.



There's also a picture of No. 5 Tipple back in the 50s, which is now the plant where Dad works. "It has a lot of the same steel in the structure," he told me.



Side note: I'd forgotten I was distantly related to Stacey Deal (formerly Stacey Lambert), one of my high school friends. Looking at The Lambert Page, I see she has kids. Her husband, Bobby, was a pseudo-nemesis back then, although he later found religion and apologized for being a jerk when we ran into each other at the mall a few years back.

I have never known a time in my life when America and its president were more hated around the world than today. I was just in Japan, and even young Japanese dislike us. It's no wonder that so many Americans are obsessed with the finale of the sitcom "Friends" right now. They're the only friends we have, and even they're leaving.

"Restoring Our Honor", by Thomas Friedman

I love Thomas Friedman. He's the foreign affairs guy I'd most like to have sitting across from me during lunch, making sense of all the stuff flying on the airwaves. He was on one of the weekend CSPAN shows a few months ago, talking to grad students, and I thought he was very warm and personable.



I picked up a copy of his book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, on a whim while I was at the library. It's pretty good.